Access to palliative care in patients with advanced cancer of the uterine cervix in the low- and middle-income countries: a systematic review

BMC Palliative Care

Research

Francis Ooko¹  Tebogo Mothiba¹  Peter Van Bogaert²  Johan Wens² 

[1] Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Limpopo, Private Bag X1106, 0727, Sovenga, South Africa;Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Antwerp, Prinsstraat 13, 2000, Antwerp, Belgium;

关键词: Cervical cancer;    Access;    Palliative care;    Low and middle-income countries;   

DOI  :  10.1186/s12904-023-01263-9

 received in 2022-12-24, accepted in 2023-09-12,  发布年份 2023

来源: Springer

【 摘 要 】

BackgroundWomen with advanced uterine cervical cancer suffer from a combination of moderate to severe physical, psychological, social, and spiritual distress due to their disease and are in need of palliative care to improve their quality of life. Approximately 85% of the women live in the low- and middle-income countries. Whether these women and their families access palliative care is not known.ObjectivesTo understand the geographic accessibility, availability, financial accessibility, and acceptability of palliative care by patients with advanced cervical cancer and their families.MethodsWe conducted a Systematic review following PRISMA guidelines in CINAHL, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, MEDLINE, PsychINFO, PubMed and Scopus for the core concepts: palliative care, access, advanced uterine cervical cancer. Eligible articles were published in English, contained original data on experiences of patients and/or caregivers including symptoms management, and discussed available resources, communication, satisfaction, and healthcare utilization.ResultsOverall there was limited access to palliative care with the few available facilities located in cities, far from the rural areas where most women lived. Pervasive poverty was common with poor affordability of healthcare, travelling, accommodation, and subsistence expenses. Misconceptions and poor knowledge of the disease, cultural beliefs and attitudes, and other health system insufficiencies also presented challenges for access.ConclusionConcerted effort should be made to improve availability of palliative care facilities. Health education to address misconceptions and other cognitive barriers that limit access among cervical cancer patients and their families should be urgently undertaken in the LMICs.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© BioMed Central Ltd., part of Springer Nature 2023

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